Official advice on poverty

An excellent piece by Brent Edwards on Morning Report today, looking at official advice to the government on poverty. Edwards requested these documents in May last year – naturally they were delayed until after the election. Some selections from the RNZ piece:

Govt advised not to spend more on poverty

Officials are recommending the Government not spend any more money fighting poverty, despite believing that would alleviate the problem.

Translation: officials give government the advice it wants despite knowing that it’s wrong. Here’s some background:

The documents obtained by Radio New Zealand also spell out how serious child poverty is in this country. Child poverty rates in 2011 were double what they were in the 1980s and are two to three times higher than the poverty rates for people aged over 65. The papers also confirm that, under most measures, child poverty rates got better in early 2000s but have not improved since 2007.

Working for Families – raising incomes – alleviated poverty.

Officials acknowledge spending more money can help alleviate poverty, in a paper dated February 2013. “If the policy objective is to reduce measured income poverty for families with children then clearly the incomes of low-income families need to increase (eg through higher employment income, reduced taxes or higher transfer payments),” the paper says.

This is the simple and obvious truth that Key’s government is desperate to deny. So why the advice not to invest more in alleviating poverty?

One of those who helped with the report, Otago University researcher Simon Chapple, is surprised by the advice from the Ministry of Social Development.

“The job of a government department is to offer free and frank advice to the Government of the day and my reading of it was that it was free and frank advice strongly tailored to the political preferences of the Government of the day. “So the notion that no more money should be spent, you know, seems a very political one.”

Quite. So what advice can these hapless officials give that fits the Nats requirements?

Ministry of Social Development officials have suggested that the Government give less money to poor families with older children and instead give more to those with young children.

Reshuffle the pie – rob Peter to pay Paul. How is that going to help?

From the constrained conclusion to the timing of the release it is clear that the Nats are still playing politics with poverty. The answer, the obvious answer and the only logical answer is clear to everyone, raise incomes. The Nats chose tax cuts for the rich instead.

My little boy is nearly 3 1/2 and it seems that every time we put clothes on him they don’t fit, and shoes, they don’t even get time to wear out before they don’t fit. And don’t get me started on food. Like teens, Littlies need constant feeding if they are to grow up healthy. So really any cuts just penalise the child ion the long run.

Another example of Orwellian double speak. When you boil the logic right down the absurdity becomes very clear. Poverty which is caused by a lack of resources will not be cured by increasing resources …

What we have to accept is this: Key’s government does not intend to do anything substantial about addressing poverty, not now, not ever. If focus groups reveal that poverty has become a ‘concern’ then he will give with one hand and take with the other, or do something that looks like giving to the middle class observer, while nothing is given in reality. Key panders to such concerns, but does not concede ground. Already I can see the stage being set for fostering the kids of the poor to become the new home-stay, and that is how it works. The left says, let’s talk about child poverty – no one can quarrel with that surely. And the right then picks up the idea and uses it to increase their dominance.

It is also why we need a Labour Party that is willing to put up a fight, rather than show how they can meet the neo-lib criteria and still achieve something. The criteria are there so you don’t achieve anything beyond what the neo-libs want – if you can meet them and still achieve something then they go up a notch. I don’t think anyone wants us to be kicked out of the White Western Club at this stage, but there has to be room to achieve something for the population before it comes to that, and right now Labour should be pushing the boundaries, not trying to fit inside them.

Interesting we still got stuff all explanation from Labour about social welfare and benefits etc. They need to grow some balls and say they’re going to fix basic benefit levels that haven’t changed in real terms since 1991.

I know they say Wellington is the Beltway and nothing that happens there really matters, certainly not to Nuzillders. Have these government looters Ministers not noticed the increase in the number of people begging for change on the streets on their way from the airport to the Beehive?

If you keep the tinted windows of your BMW wound up you can choose to ignore the poverty. Anyway everyone knows that the poor inflict that poverty upon themselves and their children by their unthrifty habits and poor lifestyle choices. Any neo-liberal can tell you that giving money to the rich is far better for the rich , whoops…. sorry, for the economy.

The Greens always do. The Greens come out quickly within hours with excellent press releases on all issues. Their press releases get a reasonable airing on National Radio but you can’t force more of the media to pick them up. You can sign up for news updates here – https://www.greens.org.nz/

“Why do NZers allow themselves to be deceived and lied to again and again by Key? It is truly unbelievable.”

I think the problem is that confidence tricksters play on a quality that is essential in society – trust.

People have to trust for relations and society to work.

The trouble is confidence tricksters are abusing that very quality that people have to have.

It takes a conscious effort and long time, and many times of ‘falling off the wagon’, to train oneself to question one’s natural trust.

To start questioning one’s trust is also something that people have a natural aversion to, and that is because underneath we all realise how essential that quality is. i.e. people want to trust.

These are my thoughts on the matter and it actually highlights how despicable the manipulation of trust is, that is going on these days, not simply within political circles but many places. It is like this abuse of trust has become the status quo business/financial practice (‘all in the name of profit’).

Until such time as we have an MSM that is not captured by the government and neoliberal policies, NZer’s will believe everything they read, listen to, and view. Let’s face it, the majority of kiwis get their information from the MSM. The flood of propaganda has done a good job of shaping the minds of most kiwis and I believe that if another party /coalition ever gets in to power, they must first look at rebalancing the MSM, otherwise their reign will be short-lived. The ideal situation will be one where the MSM all go belly-up and the main media sources are publicly funded (overseen by an independent media watchdog), with a myriad of alternative media also in the mix. We need to claim back our democracy!

Says a lot about the quality of advice the government seeks/receives. To have a healthy democracy you need a well informed public. Which we do not have. The MSM see to that. We have, overnight, become a little … Hawaii! Funny that.

The answer, the obvious answer and the only logical answer is clear to everyone, raise incomes.

Yes, it’s the obvious answer, in the same sense that the obvious answer to overcoming illness is to get better. “Raise incomes,” fine – “Raise incomes, how exactly?” remains to be answered.

The tricky bits: 1. Seeing to it that working full-time brings in enough to raise a couple of kids. 2. Seeing to it that there’s enough work available. 3. Seeing to it that people who have kids are required to fund their upbringing themselves to the extent possible.

Can’t see the Nats being interested in any of those except number 3, and can see them being vigorously opposed to number 1. No wonder the public servants have given up.

The answer, the obvious answer and the only logical answer is clear to everyone, raise incomes.

Actually, that’s not the logical answer. In fact, I think you’ll find that has been a major cause of getting us where we are and the poverty that we have.

The answer is to start thinking in terms of resources and living standards rather than in terms of money. Money can be scammed and manipulated whereas resources are pretty much fixed. With a good system to account for our resources and minimum living standard we can eliminate poverty. If we keep with money we will never be able to do so.

I can’t help thinking of the problem in terms of localised production and consumption paradigms and incorporating local resource allocation and standards of living rates into that. I can see there’s a huge discrepancy between what we consume (95% are imports?) and what we export (mostly primary commodities) which in turn explains the huge disequilibrium or imbalance between employment and unemployment.

Child poverty rates in 2011 were double what they were in the 1980s and are two to three times higher than the poverty rates for people aged over 65.

This is absolutely insane. As a country we seriously have our priorities wrong if we allow this. Just letting our nation’s children fall by the wayside and expecting it not to cost us buckets later should not be an option, but apparently it is.

If you go to the public and talk about providing people with services that give them a hand up you will find wide spread support. I was in a focus group discussing this once and giving people specific support had almost universal support and giving them money directly had minimal support.

There is a very strong meme out there regarding the irresponsible person misusing the welfare that they are given for the purpose of taking care of their kids.

A package of labour policies that would go down well with these sorts of people would be one that provides direct support in terms of things like subsidised child care, health care, more resources for job seekers, training etc. Just bold enough and market distorting enough that National does not dare to follow.

The left also has the option of trying to convince them of a whole different view of the world where the individual on welfare spends money more efficiently than the state – but the likelyhood of that working in the next term or three… is close to 0.

And the downloadable document on this following page is well worth the read.

It describes how a research group formulated the measurement by getting people on small incomes to estimate their costs. That project started in 1995 I know it continued for years after the initial research was done (updates are required because costs change) yet I am unsure if they still do these updates now, or not:

I think that as well as Poverty records we need a Slavery Index for companies that are paying really low wages. The living wage should be regarded as the zero. Anything below that should be a positive Slavery index. If it is cheaper to pay a person on a low wage than it is to house and feed them then this is slavery and needs to be shamed. Also publicised should be the CEO: lowest wage ratio. It is time to hold up the mirror to those who are enriching themselves at the expense of their fellow-citizens.

This is the mirage mentality that Key and his ilk have been crafting in the NZ psyc since he became leader The thing is people are believing lies are now no longer lies or that the Nats are not accountable in law and all laws can be changed to suit the National Party s lies We now have a form of TOTALITARIANISM running this country Labour has been duped by the national led media into a little piss puddle in the corner of the room while National sits sneering at the poor Get a grip these Nats are really bad fuckin bastards

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New Zealand’s economy grew less than the central bank expected in the fourth quarter but economists don't expect the data to spur any change in the Reserve Bank's message at next week's policy review. ...

The sudden closure of Wellington’s Central Library was a shock to residents in the capital. Gem Wilder reflects on her love for the library and her hopes for its future.I received the news via the Wellington City Council twitter account, ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Rassell, Nanoartist and creative-practice based researcher in Media, RMIT University As an experimental video-maker working at scales smaller than molecules, I surround myself in a variety of scientific visualisations. In reading ...

How dare our national airline continue to brand itself with Indigenous symbols while rejecting employees who wear those same symbols on their bodies, writes Leonie Pihama.As I sit at a conference on the island of Maui, I see tā moko ...

The removal of extremist content alone isn’t going to solve the problem of right-wing terrorism. Instead, we need to harness new technology to find such individuals early and intervene.Last week, 50 lives in Christchurch were lost in another act of ...

The PM has confirmed an inquiry will be held into the circumstances leading up to the Christchurch terrorist attacks. Alex Braae asks they will have to look into.In the wake of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, questions are being raised ...

Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 21 2019Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.Today’s contentChristchurch mosque shootings ...

The pending announcement of the Sunwolves’ exit from Super Rugby points to a collective agreement from the SANZAAR unions that the Nations Championship is the future. However, trickle-down economics may be a hard sell for their constituents. The dollars are ...

This Race Relations Day, we call on all New Zealanders to take time out of their day to reflect. To stand united in mourning with victims of Christchurch, write Pancha Narayanan president of Multicultural New Zealand, and Paul Hunt, the chief ...